IT-BPM to spur NCR office market
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2019 16:15:04 +0000
The information technology-business processing management (IT-BPM) will become the top Metro Manila office demand driver in 2020, reclaiming its spot from the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), a property consultancy firm said.
Pronove Tai Associates Philippines Inc., in an interview with The Manila Times, said that IT-BPM firms will be leasing out the remaining spaces in Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered zones in the capital region.
“For 2020, approximately 593,000 sqm (square meters) of PEZA-office spaces in Metro Manila are still available for ITBPM as of Oct. 30, 2019,” Pronove noted.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte banned in June the processing of PEZA zones in the National Capital Region to spur growth in the countryside.
The POGO industry took the biggest hit, noting that it could potentially cost 40,000 to 50,000 potential job opportunities.
The IT-BPM sector’s take up is expected to reach 400,000 to 430,000 sqm in 2020, the property consultant said. This represents 37 to 39 percent of the maximum possible total take up of 1.09 million sqm next year.
Amid upbeat outlook, Pronove noted that these firms should continue up-skilling their workforce to “meet the demand of outsourcing services that needs analytical and technical skills such as auditing services, digital animation, paralegal services, software development, etc.”
“Despite limited office supply next year that are accepting POGOs, the offshore gaming sector is still expected to drive office demand but on slower phase as compared in 2019,” Pronove said.
Around 250,000 sqm of office spaces are available for offshore gaming operators, the bulk or 34 percent of which are in the Bay Area.
POGOs are seen to take up 22 to 23 percent of the office leasing transactions next year.
Apart from IT-BPM and POGOs, traditional firms like banking, financial institutions, insurance, medical and healthcare services would also boost the Metro Manila office market in 2020.